Chapel Hill fox tests positive for rabies

Published: Friday, March 22, 2013 at 09:16 AM.

CHAPEL HILL — A fox that was suspected of attacking two people in southern Chapel Hill Wednesday has tested positive for rabies.

The North Carolina Public Health Laboratory tested the fox after Orange County Animal Services impounded the fox Wednesday about noon and sent the now-dead animal to the lab for testing.

Animal services can’t say for sure if the fox that tested positive is the same fox that attacked two people Dogwood Acres and Southern Village on Tuesday, but they believe there’s a strong likelihood that it is.

On Tuesday afternoon, a man on a ladder pruning bushes was attacked by a fox that climbed up to bite him. Officials began looking for the fox and tried to alert people in the area to be careful, but later a fox attacked a woman in Southern Village, which abuts Dogwood Acres.

The next morning, the search was on again for the fox and, around noon, someone contacted authorities saying he had run over a fox that attacked the tires of his vehicle.

Because of its strange behavior, officials suspected that this fox was the one that attacked the two people. They sent it off to be tested.

Since the fox died, no one else has reported seeing a fox in the area.

CHAPEL HILL — A fox that was suspected of attacking two people in southern Chapel Hill Wednesday has tested positive for rabies.

The North Carolina Public Health Laboratory tested the fox after Orange County Animal Services impounded the fox Wednesday about noon and sent the now-dead animal to the lab for testing.

Animal services can’t say for sure if the fox that tested positive is the same fox that attacked two people Dogwood Acres and Southern Village on Tuesday, but they believe there’s a strong likelihood that it is.

On Tuesday afternoon, a man on a ladder pruning bushes was attacked by a fox that climbed up to bite him. Officials began looking for the fox and tried to alert people in the area to be careful, but later a fox attacked a woman in Southern Village, which abuts Dogwood Acres.

The next morning, the search was on again for the fox and, around noon, someone contacted authorities saying he had run over a fox that attacked the tires of his vehicle.

Because of its strange behavior, officials suspected that this fox was the one that attacked the two people. They sent it off to be tested.

Since the fox died, no one else has reported seeing a fox in the area.

The people who were attacked went immediately to the hospital and are receiving treatment for their wounds and for rabies.

If anyone else made contact with the fox, they should call the Health Department immediately and ask to speak to the communicable disease nurse about risk factors for rabies. The number is 919-245-2343.

If anyone suspects a pet may have been in contact with the fox, they should call animal services.

The case “is a powerful reminder to pet owners to keep their cats and dogs currently vaccinated for rabies,” said Bob Marotto, director of Orange County Animal Services.

Foxes, like dogs, contract rabies through exposure with a host species for the disease. In North Carolina, the dominant host species is the raccoon. The species that are most susceptible to getting rabies from raccoons in this area are dogs, cats, groundhogs, skunks and foxes.

The other host species of rabies of concern is bats. Of the few cases of rabies in humans in our country in recent years, most have been traced to bats.

If anyone believes they have been exposed to a bat, they should immediately contact their animal control program. If an incident involving a bat, raccoon, skunk or fox should occur outside regular hours of service, an Animal Control Officer should be called immediately through 911.